The Darkness of Night
by Evil intent
Summary: After Arthur exiles Merlin from Camelot he goes on a hunt for a magical beast only to find his ex-manservant on the hunt as well. The two are forced into working together again as both hope to regain the others trust and get back to the way they once were.


The Darkness of Night

So this is slightly AU. In this Arthur has found out about Merlin's magic and had a negative reaction. Instead of killing him Arthur banished Merlin. Gwaine and Lancelot tried to follow Merlin but Merlin told them to stay, that he wanted them to protect Arthur and Camelot. This takes place a little over a year after Merlin's banishment. Morgana has not been heard of in months but a faction of unruly sorcerers lead by a man named Tesla has joined forces with various kingdoms to wage war on Camelot; and to make it worse there are stories of a beast attacking villages just within Camelot's borders. The story starts with Arthur, Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot, Elyan and Leon arriving at the village to vanquish the beast before any more citizens are hurt.

"Up ahead!" Leon called as he pointed to the column of smoke rising steadily above the village. They spurred their horses on faster as they raced towards the burning village. As they rode Arthur saw a tail whip up above the tree line. It was long and ended with a sharp barb, the entire length of it was covered in flames as if the fire emitted from it- and judging that it didn't seem minded by it one bit they were. He heard shouts and screams coming from around the bend but the shouts didn't seem fearful, they sounded almost encouraging. Arthur thought it was as if the villagers were cheering someone on, and as he drew closer he heard the shouts of words in a foreign language. Recognizing the words to be magic, he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. Magic had cost him everything; he had lost both his parents as well as his best friend to it, he wouldn't let it hurt anyone else. As the group rounded the bend Arthur felt his grip loosen with surprise. The sorcerers weren't burning the village or controlling the monster- they were fighting it. Three figures cloaked in smoke stood in front of the houses, keeping the monster from coming any closer. They alternated between launching magical attacks and launching themselves at it, sword out. The beast was obviously weakening but so were the sorcerers, even at the distance Arthur and the others were at they could see the obvious strain on the three men.

They pulled to a stop in front of one of the houses as dismounted, drawing their swords. Arthur shouted directions to the others and raised his sword. He was about to charge when a hand flew out in front of him, bringing him to an immediate stop to avoid hitting it. A villager stood in front of him, preventing him from charging.

"What is it?" Arthur snapped impatiently, the rest of his knights halted behind him.

"Don't interfere." The villager warned, "The Druid Knights have it under control."

"I'm sorry, the what?" Arthur asked. Lancelot and Gwaine shared a look of knowing while Leon, Percival and Elyan looked on in confusion.

"The Druid Knights." The man repeated, "They've been tracking the beast through many villages."

Before Arthur or anyone else had a chance to respond a deafening crash sounded from behind them. The seven of them whipped around to the source of the noise only to see the beast lying on its side, fire smoldering. The tallest 'knight' waved his hand over the prone body and the fire died away immediately, leaving nothing but a trail of smoke behind. The shortest knight removed his helmet, and a long braid of hair as red as the fire beast they had vanquished fell down. It was then the knights realized that the 'he' was actually a woman, and by her looks she was fairly young. She turned, and for the first time one of them noticed Arthur. Her mouth fell open on its own accord and she immediately whipped back around and spoke in tones too quiet to hear to the taller knight. The taller knight nodded and nudged the other to follow him. The three of them turned and began to retreat without as much as a word. Arthur started after them, his knights close at his heels.

"Stop!" Arthur commanded loudly, having to hope that they would follow his direction. He gained distance on them, being the quicker runner, but before he could grab hold of one of them a man brandishing a sword jumped out from the trees, a dozen others clambering out behind him. Arthur readied his sword, his knights doing the same. The Druid Knights turned at the sound of steel on steel and drew their own blades to join the fight. Arthur whirled about, parrying and thrusting to deflect the attacks to him and his men and kill his opponents. He was dimly aware of the Druid Knights fighting alongside him but he was too preoccupied with the highly trained attackers to worry about the three strange knights at the moment. Arthur hacked his last man to the ground just as the tallest Druid Knight pulled his sword from another's body. The knight turned to face Arthur and Arthur, expecting another attack, readied his own.

Instead of attacking however, the strange man shouted "Duck!" and as Arthur hit the ground he fired a bolt of golden light at the man who had been poised to kill Arthur without a single word. As Arthur turned to see the man dead on the ground the knight's eyes slowly turned from an intense gold to a muted blue.

Arthur looked up at the man before him from his position on the ground. A nagging feeling at the back of his mind told him that he knew this man but he pushed it aside. The man turned and walked over the bodies two the other two members of his crew. Suddenly Leon was at his side helping him to his feet.

"I'm fine." Arthur assured him before returning his attention to the three so-called "Druid Knights".

Leon leaned closer to Arthur and whispered, "Does he seem familiar to you, Sire?" Arthur didn't reply but Elyan and Percival who had appeared at his side both nodded.

Gwaine walked up to them, Lancelot in tow. "Let's find out." He said quickly, the statement accompanied with a jaunty wink. As the group approached the other two knights removed their helmets. One of them had shortly clipped sandy blonde hair and the other had deep black hair that reached the nape of his neck. Arthur felt his stomach turn as they grew closer.

"The hair the eyes, the height- it can't be." He thought uneasily. The prospect of facing him after all this time made him feel nervous. But as the Druid Knights turned to face them there was no doubt who their leader was.

It was Merlin.

He stood in a way Arthur had never seen before. It was straight and rigid, his tenseness showed in every muscle Arthur could see through his thin and charred shirt. That wasn't the biggest difference however. As the knights looked on in shock all Arthur could focus on was the jagged scar that ran from Merlin's left temple to his collarbone. It stretched the entire length of his face and neck and then some. Another thing Arthur couldn't help but notice was his eyes. They were no longer the bright sky blue he was used to- now they were dark. The only brightness came from the streaks of gold that ran through them, the sign of magic. The other two also bore marks of battle as well as gold streaked eyes. The three of them all stood defensively, and Arthur could see the girl's hand fidgeting as if she couldn't decide whether she should be reaching for her sword or not. The blonde boy was acting the same way and his knees were bent as if he was readying to throw himself between Arthur and Merlin or the girl. Merlin, on the other hand, appeared relaxed as he looked on the group before him, but Arthur could see his hand flicker back and forth like the other two's. He felt a stab at his heart as he realized the Merlin seemed scared of him.

Merlin nodded slowly at Arthur, a silent invitation to join him. "It will be dark soon." Merlin said quietly, "Are you coming?"

Arthur looked at his men before nodding once and they started off.

They rode for a little over an hour before Merlin seemed to find a spot he liked. The entire way no one said anything or made any attempt to communicate, save for the uncomfortable glances between members of each party. They made two spate setups, one for Merlin's group and one for Arthur's. Arthur set up his camp in silence whereas Merlin talked quietly among his people for a few moments before the three of them walked to Arthur's setup.

Merlin spoke quietly, "The people that attacked us, they're members of Tesla's army."

"Tesla?" Gwaine questioned, he was the first person to actually speak to Merlin.

"He's been amassing an army of sorcerers and fellow kingdoms that hate you." He directed that statement towards Arthur.

"He's working with Morgana then?" Leon asked, Arthur remained quiet, his attention on the stick he dragged slowly over the ground.

The blonde shook his head, "Morgana's dead. She's been dead for a while." That got Arthur's attention.

"And who are you?" Arthur snapped, it came out sharper than he wanted it to be and he internally winced.

"Right, sorry." Merlin mumbled, he didn't sound apologetic, "That's Culi," he motioned to the boy, "And that's Asha." The girl, Asha, glanced up from her fingernails, which she cleaned with her knife; she seemed to be daring them to try anything.

Gwaine cleared him throat, uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere, "So this Tesla guy, what business does he have destroying Camelot."

Merlin's response was, again, directed at Arthur, "You killed his brother, and his parents, and basically his whole town." The sentence was said coolly and bitterly, making Arthur's heart clench.

Gwaine smacked his lips together, "Ah, well that about sums it up. What's your plan?"

"I've been amassing an army of those loyal to me." Merlin stated simply, motioning to Culi and Asha.

It was Elyan's turn to talk, "Don't take this the wrong way Merlin, but what do you mean you've got an army of those loyal to you?"

"Loyal to Emrys." Culi clarified.

"As in the Emrys from the Great Prophesy?" ELyan asked, his voice filled with awe.

Merlin nodded, "Yep, Emrys, Once and Future King and all that." All the knights winced that time. Merlin sounded so tired and weary- this was not the Merlin.

Gwaine voiced their thoughts, "You've changed, Merlin."

"Not Merlin." Merlin replied quietly, "I left that part of me behind when I left Camelot." He said 'left' bitterly without a trace of light, "It's just Emrys now."

With that said Emrys stood to walk back to his camp, Culi and Asha with him. Arthur suddenly stood and reached out as if to put a hand on his shoulder. Without hesitation Asha draw her knife from her belt and pushed Arthur back, knife held at his throat. The knights in the clearing all leapt to their feet, drawing their swords. Their movements made Culi draw his and the two groups stood facing each other in a standoff.

Emrys' voice tore through the clearing, every syllable dripping with a commanding tone, "Let go now." He said quietly, his voice a scary-calm that made everyone listen. Asha dropped her knife back to her side and sheathed it before pushing Arthur back to his side. She nodded her head upward, daring them to try again. She turned and nudged Merlin gently away from Arthur's stunned group. As the three of them departed Arthur and the knights heard Merlin say "He wasn't going to hurt me." quietly.

Asha glanced at him, her face skeptical, "You sure about that?" Merlin's silence hurt more than anything anyone could have said or done.

Each group rotated their watches, being sure that Arthur's and Merlin's didn't coincide.

Once dawn arrived they began to ride again, and after a short series of questions they discovered where Merlin was leading them. They were going to Nory- Tesla's kingdom. He was currently there, sending forces to kill Emrys and Arthur. Merlin explained that by killing Tesla his forces would basically dismantle themselves. The only thing holding them together at this point was Tesla's promise of power to those who helped him bring the fall of Camelot. With his promises turned to nothing his so called 'army' would break up and go looking for the next source of power to leech off of.

"So how far away is Nory?" Lancelot asked. Lancelot, Gwaine and Elyan had fallen back into a semi-comfortable state with Merlin; the others...not so much.

"A few days." Merlin replied shortly, "We're just making a small detour."

"Where?" Elyan questioned.

"One of Tesla's holding centers," Merlin replied, "We're going to break out a few people."

Arthur opened his mouth for the first time that day, "Who?"

"Some Druids and assorted tows people. Tesla has a habit of kidnapping or killing those who get in his way." The other knights nodded and no more questions were asked.

A half an hour into the ride Gwaine tried striking up a conversation with Merlin. "So how'd you get that scar?" he asked innocently.

Merlin shrugged, "I picked a bad fight."

Gwaine grinned, "Did you win?"

Merlin just shrugged again, "More or less." Was his melancholy reply.

Culi jumped in on the conversation, "He won." He assured, "You should've seen it."

Now Gwaine was truly interested, "What happened?"

"He tried to fight off Morgana and Tesla at once." Culi said, he was excitable like a little kid, "'Cept they were both really strong and he was still injured from that fight with Cenred's army-" he stopped himself immediately like he had revealed something secret, and in fact he more or less had. The knights turned and looked at Merlin strangely, the battle with Cenred had been the day Merlin was banished but no one knew he had been hurt.

"I wasn't aware you had been injured." Leon said slowly.

Merlin shrugged, "While you all were dealing with the normal soldiers I was fighting the magic ones. It wasn't that bad an injury anyway."

"What happened?" Elyan asked, genuinely curious as he pushed the question.

"I was preoccupied." Merlin replied in a disinterested tone, "Someone got a lucky shot at my back."

"You were stabbed in the back and you still managed to defeat Morgana the next day?" Gwaine asked, disbelief in his voice. Lancelot had a small smile on his face, secretly proud of the power his friend had.

"Well it wasn't the next day." Merlin clarified, "It was almost a week after that when we fought."

"I thought you healed quicker than that?" Gwaine asked.

"It was a sword like Arthur's." Merlin replied, "Forged in a Dragon's Breath. I can't heal that."

Something had caught Arthur's attention and he turned around to look at Gwaine. "Hold on," he said slowly, "did you know he had magic before all of this?" Gwaine glanced at the ground, suddenly uncomfortable again. Arthur took this as a sign of his guilt, "How many of you knew?" he asked, anger and hurt rising in his voice.

Gwaine, Lancelot and Elyan looked shyly at the ground. "Wow." Arthur scoffed, "That's just great. You trusted all of them enough to tell them about your magic."

"Hold on." Merlin snapped, anger becoming evident in his own voice, "I didn't tell any of them. They found out. It probably had something to do with me saving your asses every day, something I may add; you were too blind to notice yourself!"

Arthur scoffed and looked intently at his reigns. "Oh, wow, you're feeling betrayed." Merlin suddenly snapped.

Arthur wheeled around, "Or great so now your powers extend to reading my mind."

"Just your emotions." Merlin snapped back.

"Well, Merlin, since you obviously know so much about my emotions you should know that yes, I feel betrayed. You know how I feel about magic and how it has destroyed so many people's lives yet you still chose to practice it!" Arthur all but yelled in his anger.

Merlin scoffed, "Please, you think I chose this?! I've never had a real choice in my life! I was born with magic, destiny forced me to go to Camelot and serve you, and you banished me! I haven't gotten to do one thing myself this entire time except maybe choose to sacrifice my bloody life for you time and time again!"

The group stared at the two men, specifically Merlin, stunned at the outburst. Merlin licked his lips and ran a hand down his face before exhaling heavily and spurring his horse forward, past the others to take the lead. Culi and Asha followed in suit. As Merlin and Culi put a bit of distance between themselves and the knights Asha sided up to the group.

"He's right, you know." She said quietly, "Everything he's ever done he did for you, and you completely took him for granted. You threw him away without letting him explain, like he was nothing." She glanced at them sadly before quietly adding, "You broke him." then spurred her horse forward to join them, leaving Arthur and the knights in a stunned silence.

Part two

They rode in silence until Merlin motioned for them to stop. "The camp is ahead." Merlin whispered, "The big white tent it the one we want. Try not to engage unless necessary." He directed. Asha and Culi nodded and readied their weapons. The knights looked to Arthur and he nodded, showing he agreed with Merlin's plan. Merlin held up a single fist showing one finger, then two fingers...on three they moved out of the underbrush. The group moved quickly through the shadows, being led by Merlin. They stayed low to the ground, ducking behind luggage piles and bushes when someone glanced their way until they reached their intended target. Merlin shuffled to the edge of the tent and his eyes flashed gold. After a moment he glanced back, "No guards." He mouthed. He lifted up the flap and motioned for the others to go in. after everyone had entered he ducked under himself and stood up on the other side. The knights and Culi and Asha were already in motion, untying bonds and severing chains. It was done quickly, quietly and efficiently, and everyone was freed in a matter of minutes. Merlin kept his voice low, "Follow me, stay low and stay quiet." He directed. The huddled mass of people nodded silently and followed his lead to the edge of the tent. Merlin's eyes turned gold again as he scanned they outside area. His eyes widened in surprise before he turned to Asha and Culi, "Get them out." He mouthed. Asha's brow furrowed in confusion. "Get them out." Merlin mouthed again, motioning for them to go.

Asha used her own magic to peer through the wall of the tent. "No." she mouthed in shock. She turned back to Culi and mouthed a single word that even Arthur and the knights could catch: "Tesla."

Arthiur grabbed Merlin by the elbow and yanked him toward him, pushing his current emotions aside. "He's here?" Arthur asked in a voice below a whisper.

"Yes." Merlin hissed back, jerking his arm away, "Now shut up, before he hears you." He glanced around the room at the twenty odd people in addition to the knights and his two and made up his mind. "Go." He directed in a whisper so that the ex-prisoners could hear him, "I'll draw them away."

Asha and Culi, in addition to the knights, furrowed their eyebrows, "No." Culi whispered back, "You're not going alone- he'll kill you."

Merlin shook his head, "I can outrun them."

"Emrys.." Culi said in a warning tone, trailing off.

"Get them out of here." Merlin commanded, brushing off his friend's concern, "I can handle myself." He shifted his sword a little higher as is to say, 'see?' "Lead them that way," he motioned to the east side of the tent with his had, "and I'll take them the other way."

Culi nodded once before motioning to the people behind him, "Let's go." He whispered. He lead the people out of the tent single file until the knights, Arthur and Asha were the only ones to remain with Merlin.

Asha lay a gentle hand on Merlin's shoulder, "Be careful Emrys." She whispered before letting go and following. She motioned for the other knights to follow her. Gwaine moved closer to Merlin's side and hoisted his sword on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked curtly.

"Staying." Gwaine replied with a smirk. "You didn't really think I was going to let you face off against an army by yourself, did you?"

Merlin shrugged, "Done so before."

Gwaine grinned, "Not while I was there." He then looked at Arthur who stood by the edge of the tent as if daring him to contradict him or order him back but Arthur just gave him a small nod and ducked under the flap. Gwaine looked back at Merlin, "Looks like it's just you and me." Merlin turned and ducked out the other side of the tent. As he turned away he let a small smile play at the corners of his mouth. He was grateful for the company, even if he wouldn't admit it. Gwaine ducked out behind him and, after sharing a look, they charged out into the camp.

They slashed their way through the center of the camp, plowing down those who got in their way. They drew plenty of attention, and by the time they got to the edge of the forest they had almost the entire camp on their tail. The two continued fighting as they entered the woods, the trees providing some cover from the sea of swords.

"Hey mate," Gwaine shouted over the roar of the crowd and the clang of steel on steel, "I think this might have been a bad idea!"

"Agreed!" Merlin yelled back, though as he fought he felt a sense of happiness as he and Gwaine fell back into their normal banter. He truly had missed his friends. Merlin felt a burning sensation in his arm as a soldier landed a lucky shot and he blew him backward with a rise of gold in his eyes. Almost as if he had just remembered he had magic he released a wave of energy, blowing every knight in a ten foot radius backwards. Gwaine looked at his with a mixture of shock and awe but Merlin just shrugged. "Keep moving!" Merlin directed and they took off.

Merlin's magic explosion had bought them some time but as they ran Merlin began to hear footsteps catching up. He turned around; an arm outstretched, but was greeted by the faces of his friends. Behind them Arthur and the knights stood, out of breath from running. "Why'd you do with the prisoners?" Merlin asked.

"Let 'em go in the woods." Asha replied between breaths, "There's a Druid camp just a little ways away from here. They'll find it all right."

"Okay, okay good." Merlin replied hastily.

Culi turned around, "Do you hear that?" Merlin strained to hear what Culi was talking about and sure enough he heard the patter of footsteps and the crunching of leaves and sticks underfoot.

He glanced back at Culi and nodded, "Run." They broke into another run, winding through the trees in an attempt to lose them but it seemed as if they were gaining. Out of nowhere an arrow embedded itself in a tree next to Elyan's head. He let out an involuntary yelp and ducked in an attempt to protect his head from further bombardment. A series of arrows hit the ground just behind the last few people's legs and urged them forward quicker. Merlin skidded to a halt, letting everyone move past him as he waited for the next volley of arrows. As soon as it came he shot his arms out, sending a wall of light in front of him to intercept the arrows and knock the to the ground, useless. He flicked his eyebrows up at the archers behind him as they struggled to re-notch their bows before turning back and running to meet up with the group.

A few yards behind the back of the group a quicker archer let his arrow fly. It flew straight and stroke Merlin right through the side. Merlin felt his legs collapse under him, and his momentum carried him forward a few feet before he went crashing to the ground. He let out an inevitable cry and the ground flew towards him. Lancelot and Arthur, who were in the back, heard his shout and turned to help him, but before they could even make an attempt to reach him he managed to curl into a ball and roll as soon as he hit the ground. He executed a perfect somersault and hit the ground with two feet, continuing to run. Arthur stood stock still for a second in total shock and disbelief before Lancelot shoved him forward, urging him back into a run as another volley of arrows hit the ground where they had just been standing.

The group rounded another bend, and found themselves at a cliff's edge. "I thought you said you knew where you were going!" Culi snapped at Asha furiously.

"I do!" Asha shot back, "I know what I'm doing! I've got a plan."

Culi scoffed and motioned to the cliff face, "Yeah, great plan." He rolled his eyes and drew his sword as Lancelot, Arthur and Merlin rounded the bend. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he saw Merlin. "Oh, shit Emrys." He whispered in shock. The arrow had gone completely through Merlin's body, with the arrow head protruding just to the left of his sternum and the tail poking out of his back. Culi's mouth opened and closed without making any noise as the others noticed the younger man's predicament.

Merlin took a gasping breath and muttered, "I've had worse."

"You're about to." A voice said threateningly from behind the trees. Tesla stepped out from the grove as everyone drew their swords. "Now, now, now," Tesla droned, "there's no need for that." He swiped one of his hands across the air and the swords were ripped from everyone's hands and cast aside. Culi thrust his hand forward to initiate an attack but Tesla simply waved his hand and Culi was tossed aside like a rag doll.

"Culi!" Asha screamed. In her fury she whipped a knife from her belt and raised it in a position to throw but Tesla shot a hand out. Immediately she began to rise from the ground, grasping helplessly at her throat as he gasped for breath. Within seconds she stopped struggling and her eyes rolled back in her head. Tesla dropped his hand back to his side and Asha fell to the ground unmoving. Gwaine and Percival started forward together but Tesla just brought his hands together as if he was going to clap and their bodies were slammed violently together. Both collapsed and lay in a heap, unconscious. Lancelot was supporting most of Merlin's weight and Arthur stood protectively in front of them. Elyan, knowing it was useless but wanted to try anyway, lunged at Tesla and was consequently flicked aside like he was nothing but a bothersome fly. He slammed into a tree and sunk down. Merlin tried to struggle to his feet but Lancelot held him down.

"No." Lancelot whispered, "You're too weak- he'll kill."

"No, no, no." Tesla said mockingly, clicking his tongue, "If he wants to try, let him try." He snapped his fingers and Lancelot's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground. Merlin struggled to his feet.

"Get behind me." Merlin whispered in Arthur's ear.

"But-" Arthur started.

Merlin cut him off, "Get. Behind. Me" he said clearly. When Arthur still didn't move Merlin took a step forward, placing himself between Tesla and Arthur.

Tesla tilted his head to the side and smirked, "Brave, but stupid." He paused for a moment before adding, "And useless."

"Andslyhe" Merlin started to shout, arm outstretched, but Tesla flashed his own eyes and Merlin went spiraling backwards, right towards the cliff edge. Arthur dove into action, sliding along the edge to grab Merlin's hand before he went over. Arthur used his free hand to latch onto a rock as he strained to hold Merlin up. Merlin panted heavily, obviously in great pain from the amount of strain being put of his arm and injured chest. Arthur let out a groan as every muscle in his being strained to hold Merlin up.

Tesla laughed at them and, presuming both would fall, turned away and began his retreat. His job was done here.

Merlin saw him begin to slip, 'Let me go." He said quietly.

Arthur shook his head but when he spoke it was strained, "No way." Behind him the others began to stir.

"I got this Arthur." Merlin tried to smile but it came off as a grimace cut off by a groan of pain as he pulled on his wound painfully.

Arthur shook his head again, "I let you go once, I'm not making that mistake again." Merlin's eyes widened at Arthur's confession but he said nothing. Arthur slid further and finally Merlin spoke.

"Arthur, I'm serious- let go." Merlin said in a strained voice. Behind Arthur Merlin could see Asha struggle to her feet. Realizing the perilous situation Merlin was in she rushed to the edge, ignoring the dizziness that racked her brain. Merlin looked back at Arthur only to see him slip more, "Do you trust me?" he asked. Arthur said nothing but he looked as if he was racking his brain for an answer. Merlin decided he was taking too long and glanced at her, "You got this?" he asked between pants and gasps.

She nodded, "I got this." With that Merlin looked back up at Arthur and mumbled "Sorry." Arthur opened his mouth to respond but before he could say anything a searing pain lit up his hand. He looked at Merlin, eyes wide with pain only to be met with eyes of molten gold. Arthur tried to hold on, to fight through the magic and the pain but reflexes won, and he let go.

"NO!" Arthur shouted as he watched Merlin tumble down. And then he began to slow. Merlin's eyes were still gold, his arms were outstretched like a bird- he was controlling his descent. Arthur glanced at Asha beside his and realized that she was bringing him back up. Her eyes glowed gold as she slowly raised her arms above her head, pulling Merlin with her. When Merlin was over the edge she dropped her arms and he collapsed to the ground. Arthur pushed himself up off the ground and went to check on his men as Asha checked on Merlin. Lancelot, Elyan and Leon were already on their feet and Gwaine and Percival were in the process of untangling themselves. Culi limped slowly over to where Asha was supporting Merlin with one of his arms wrapped over her shoulder. The three of them made their way over to Arthur and the knights.

"We'll just go a bit into the woods," Asha directed, "we can put up wards to keep anyone away." The others nodded their approval and started to move forward but Asha stopped them. "Just a second." She murmured. She placed a hand over Merlin's chest and a soft gold light moved from her hand into his chest in a steady flow.

"Did you heal him?" Lancelot asked.

Asha shook her head, "No, healing spells are too difficult and take too much. I just gave him a bit more energy. It's a trick we use to keep going." As if to prove her point Merlin pushed himself off her and gave them a shaky grin.

"Good as new." He said, "Now let's make camp." The group moved into the trees where the warlocks got to work putting up wards to keep out any unwelcome visitors. After it was done they sat down and began tending to their wounds. Arthur marveled at how they didn't seem to require any assistance. Culi sat on a bedroll and wrapped up his own ankle and ribs as Asha stitched up a gash she had received on her leg. His amazement turned to disturbance, however, when Merlin stood up and moved so that his back was to a large tree. With one swift movement he threw himself backwards, pushed the arrow through his body. He grasped the bloodied tip and pulled it out, tossing it lightly into the fire before him. The only pain he showed was a small grimace and a flash of discomfort in his eyes.

Merlin turned to grab a roll of bandages only to find everyone on Arthur's side of the camp staring at him. "What..?" he asked, sounding concerned.

Gwaine gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, "Wha...?"

"You know, you could have asked for help." Lancelot said slowly.

Merlin shrugged, "I didn't need it." He sounded genuinely confused by the idea of getting help and it sent another stab to the hearts of the knights.

Lancelot nodded slowly, "Okay..."

Merlin turned back to his group, "Who wants dinner?" both Culi and Asha voiced their desires for food and soon they had stew cooking. Arthur and the knights watched in amazement as they three of them directed the ingredients with magic. Culi lay back on his bedroll, lazily twirling his finger in the air as he commanded the stew to stir itself. While he did that Asha added the ingredients, making them fly from the bag to the pot without so much as moving her head. Merlin used his own magic to lay out the bedrolls and bowls for the stew. Within minutes the soup was heated over the floating ball of fire and was being poured into bowls. The knights looked on slack-jawed as they watched how they used magic so easily without any spells. Asha caught their looks and rolled her eyes, a smile playing at her lips.

"We made enough for you lot too." Merlin called across the grove, beckoning them over. Arthur felt his heart soar in his chest as Merlin talked to him outright. They sat around the hovering fire as they ate the stew, which was significantly better than the one Gwaine made- the knights had really missed Merlin's cooking, and Culi explained how this kind of fire didn't create smoke so it was ideal for staying undiscovered. After dinner Merlin waved his hand and cleared out the bowls of any residue, not that there was any- they had really missed Merlin's cooking. Once the bedrolls were rolled out Merlin and Arthur took first watch. It was quiet with none of their usual banter, but it was a start; maybe things could get better after all.


End file.
